Chapter 5

As the ship was docking at our home spaceport in Concordia, capital of the planet of Concord, we were gathering our things, of which there weren’t many, and preparing to disembark. Clarise’s belongings were being shipped separately by freighter and most of Georgia’s belongings were kept on her shuttle. We had the four hover cases being pulled by the two pretty little minions, who I noticed today were dressed a bit differently.

Instead of their cotton broadcloth shifts and sandals, the two were in colorful snug fitting knit clothing consisting of tank tops, miniskirts and high heels. Their little outfits were both cute and sexy, and they had gone out of their way to look adult and well dressed. Pigtails were NOT the hairstyle of the day. They were sporting ponytails instead, which aged them in appearance by several years. Just that little change made that much of a difference.

“I approve, girls. You look fantastic. May I enquire as to the reason for the change?” I asked them.

“Princess Gwyneth wanted us to look nice so that you would be proud to be seen with us. We want that, too, Chancellor,” Lina told me.

“It’s working. You are both gorgeous, and I am proud to have you in my party. Let’s get going before I just eat you both up!” I growled jokingly causing the five women to laugh a little. We headed out of the suite, turning down the corridor toward the main hatch to disembark, when over the speaker I heard Anna yell, “Freeze! Chancellor, do not move.”

We stopped where we were, which was just outside my suite in the hallway.

“Chancellor, ladies, back in your suite. Emergency Lock. NOW!” It was Anna, and she was adamant.

I moved us back into the suite, urging all the women in front of me to get back inside the suite quickly, and turned to engage the emergency lock on the door control panel. Just after I hit the panel and just before the door slammed closed completely, I saw shadows on the walls and heard about six rounds from handheld lasers being emitted.

“Please stay where you are for just another minute or so, sir. Two individuals were just neutralized outside your door in front of your suite and four more were neutralized at the main hatch area, two inside and two outside. I will have more information later, but you are safe within the ship. As soon as security removes the bodies from your corridor, I will advise you it is safe to depart. You have a squad of your Elite Cojourn troopers awaiting your arrival at the docking area. They will transport you and your ladies to your residence. Am I to accompany you at this time or stay on the ship, sir?”

“I would like you to stay here overnight, analyzing what has happened and keep working with CCIG and security to process through it. I know you can do both, but Betty can take care of us at the house, and I need you here for this problem. We will talk through Betty if we need to.”

“So, it must be. Travel safely, sir, and take care of those ladies. Please arm yourself before leaving the suite, sir. You may leave and meet security at the main spacecraft exit portal after you do.”

“Thank you, Anna.” I handed Clarise a gun belt she kept in my closet. She handed it to Georgia and asked for my carbine instead. It was a small rifle that fired expanding supersonic projectiles, and she felt we needed it as well as the laser pistols, just in case. I donned my laser pistol belt, and off we went.

As we started out, I saw the look of wonder on Gwyneth’s face. She was stunned, as well as confused, then I saw anger morphing in, and finally, relief. We could smell the stench of burnt flesh in the hallway and there were some spotting and marks on the floor, but the bodies had been removed so she wouldn’t see them as we departed.

“Well, Princess Gwyneth, I think I need to work on my plan a bit and get it going. I have never had a problem like this until now that I’m bringing you home with me. What do you think, my dear?”

“I think I’m angry and I think I’m glad you have me. Your people are keeping me safe, and I feel if I can get through this little scare that I want you to hug me.” I stopped us all where we were and hugged her.

“We’ll be fine, sweetheart. We’ll be fine.” She seemed to believe me. I looked at the others and it appeared they all did, too. Good. That makes people less nervous.

There was a hover shuttle, just outside the hatch with about six of my best soldiers standing guard, looking outward for any anomalous situations. There were none, so they directed us to board the shuttle bus then two of the guards entered, the doors closed, and we departed the area.

It was about ten minutes later when the shuttle stopped in front of the residence and after the soldiers deployed, we were escorted inside. The buildings of the residence were inside a compound used for other military operations, so we had quite a bit of security around. The security team just didn’t want to take any chances. Landing at the spaceport, nonchalantly like we did, was not normally a problem, like I mentioned to Gwyn, but evidently, we needed to start making more secure arrangements until this is all cleared up.

“Chancellor, now that you are home, safe and sound, we’re going to head out, but if you hear or see anything suspicious, anything at all, hit the panic button, please.”

“Will do, Lieutenant Maxwell. Thank you. You and your guys have a good afternoon. I’ll have pizza and beer waiting for you at Roberto’s this evening. I recommend you partake. You know they’ll report back, so do the right thing,” I said through a smile.

Maxwell grinned, nodded, thanked me, saluted, gathered up his troops and took off for points unknown.

“Well, sounds like you all had fun when you got home, Chancellor.” The voice came from all over.

“Yes, Betty, we did. Can you contact Anna and make sure she forwards any information to you so we can be kept up to date?”

“Absolutely, sir, and welcome home. Welcome home, Clarise, Georgia. Pleased to have you with us, Princess Gwyneth. I hope one day to be able to say, welcome home, Princess. Oh, and girls, I was forwarded information that you would be accompanying the princess, so I had the staff set the room next to the Princess’s up with two full size beds. I hope they are satisfactory. They are each quite large enough for the two of you, but each of you will have your own.”

The girls smiled at being addressed by the house.

“Thank you, Betty. It’s good to be back,” Clarise said, then continued, “and I think I speak for all of us when I say we’re glad to be here.”

I took the girls on a tour of the residence and the garages where the hover vehicles were kept. I did still drive, even though I had to have security with me anywhere I went.

The girls loved their guest suite. The staff had set it up with two large beds, just as Betty promised, so they had plenty of room for ... Whatever! The large shower enclosure and big therapeutic tub they could share brought smiles to their faces, and the separate water closet with the toilet and bidet brought grins those same pretty little faces.

The princess had an almost identical suite, the only difference being the king-sized bed versus the two smaller ones. Gwyneth’s suite was next to mine and then Lina and Mina were housed in the next suite down the hall.

Like onboard the ship, Clarise’s suite was on the other side of mine, and Georgia had one next to hers. Georgia’s wasn’t really hers until we returned, as it was used for many different guests at one time or another, but at that point, it was declared hers for as long as I was Chancellor. That would very possibly be the next hundred and twenty years if my life expectancy followed my father’s and grandfather’s. They passed at one hundred forty-eight and one hundred forty-six, respectively.

We ate a light dinner that evening, still a bit shaken over the earlier event, but after it was cleaned up, we all went out back of the house and after Clarise made sure that only Patrice, the evening housekeeping staff member, was in the residence, we all removed our clothing and swam, talked, and used the hot tub on the side of the pool.

I commented to Princess Gwyneth on how lovely her minions were. “Gwyneth, your girls are extremely attractive. They appear much younger than they are, I know. When I first met them, I thought they were about fifteen. They appear now to be a bit older than that, maybe in their very late teens. I know they are much older than that, but I didn’t know they were so absolutely drop dead beautiful. Lina, Mina, you are. You are very, very pretty girls.”

They giggled and looked down, shying away at my statement. “Thank you, sir,” Lina said.

“We think you all are very handsome and beautiful, too, sir. We are very happy to be here and feel at home already around the nice and gentle people we feel you are.”

“Thank you for that, Mina,” Clarise returned, pulling the little girl to her bosom and hugging her. They were down in the hot, still water of the hot tub. I saw Clarise pull Mina tightly to her and help the girl wrap her legs around Clarise’s waist, their breasts together, and kiss lightly. Mina didn’t stop. She kissed my love like it was the last time she’d be able to. “And thank you for that as well, Mina. Your kisses are divine. My lord, if ever you get the chance, kiss this girl. You’ll be glad you did,” she said giggling.

She handed Mina over to me and I got the same treatment. The girl wrapped herself around my waist and all just like with Clarise, except Mina found something poking her bottom that Clarise didn’t have. She reached down and pulled it up between us. “Mina, are you a virgin?”

“Yes, my lord, but only in the technical sense.”

“Meaning?”

“My sister and I, and Princess Gwyneth, use different toys, devices, to play with and I have had those in me, sir. I like them, so if that is something you want me for, I am sure that will be OK with my Mistress, my lord.”

I looked at Gwyneth. She nodded. I looked at Clarise. She nodded emphatically with a grin. “I think I would like that, little one. Here, let me sit on the side and you can put your feet here by my hips and ... Ohhh, yes, Mina!” The feeling of her little hands gently holding me as she sat down on me was sublime. She was so small, so firm, and oh so flexible. She used her legs to move, making our joining so enjoyable.

“I have never felt this good, sir. Toys do not feel like this. It is real. It’s alive.” She started to gasp, then moan, then let out a little scream, and as her muscles tightened, I too released and let myself climax with her. As we joined together at the apex, I held her close to me in a tight, caring, emotional embrace. Clarise and Gwyneth saw us and came to us to share in the moment. Lina followed them and stood on the step behind her sister and held her from there, kissing her ears and rubbing her neck and shoulders. “Thank you, sir, for that. You have made me feel so wonderful. I hope I did the same for you. I hope you found some pleasure in using me. I am here for you any time you like.”

“Thank you, Mina. I may take you up on that, often. I don’t know if I would call it ‘using you’, though. That sounds so terrible. I don’t want you to feel that way, either. I’d much rather you felt we were sharing our pleasure in what we did.” She nodded and smiled, then let me kiss her deeply again. “You were marvelous, little one.” She stood and before we made a mess, Gwyneth helped her clean up. More moans were heard during that operation, then Mina reached a climax again, letting loose a bit of verbiage meant for adults only. That made me start to get aroused again. Clarise motioned Georgia over then just as I kissed her and started to fondle her body and she mine, we heard the dings of the announcement.

“Goddess, damn it. Every! Fucking! Time!” Georgia started laughing and just collapsed on my shoulder.

Betty announced to us that CCIG had identified the individuals involved with the plot to kidnap the princess. “Sorry to bother, sir. Anna has forwarded information to your tablet, but the main points are, there were seven men and one woman involved with the plot. Two tried to run away in their shuttle which was next to your craft at the dock. They are in custody. Six perished, two inside near your suite, two just inside the main entry hatch and two just outside the main hatch. They were surprised by your elite force when they demanded entry and forced their way in. Two were able to push past and run down the living quarters corridor avoiding being hit by laser fire. Those two reached just outside your suite and were terminated by ship security. The other four were terminated by your people. CCIG warned Lieutenant Maxwell of the plot yesterday and the Lieutenant reacted accordingly.”

“Did we suffer any casualties?”

“No sir, save for a bruised wrist joint when one of your troops turned to fire on the insurgents and hit his wrist against a superstructure frame girder at the main entry hatch.”

“Thank you, Betty. Please thank Anna for me and have arrangements made to have her delivered to my office here at the residence, please.”

“Yes, sir.”

I read the tablet article Anna sent. The prince hired mercenaries from Qualon Five, only two systems away. They were close enough to make sure they were waiting for us to arrive. It was well known where the Regency Valor docked at the facility when in port. The two family members who were left out of the know, were the King of Fairland and the Crown Prince of Goodland, Jaren and Walton, respectively.

The queen helped plan the attack, using acquaintances to contact the mercenaries, and the prince put up the money to pay out if the job got done. Word had not gotten back to them that there was a failure yet, and the port was in lockdown. The first thing CCIG did was to have port security jam and intercept the shuttle being used as the mercenaries’ transport. It was being kept secret that the attempt was made and that it had failed. My plan would build on that, I hoped, and it turned out it did. My biggest worry at the time was how the king was going to react to the revelation. His wife had committed high treason, against both his society and mine, and some would even consider it an egregious act of war. I didn’t, because I had the facts, but he was going to have to react in some way. I wouldn’t want to be him when all that went down.

The two perpetrators that lived were advised to assist us in our attempt to counter the kidnapping plot or they wouldn’t live much longer. Their crimes were all capital, and they would be tried and put to death, or possibly just left to die, if they didn’t cooperate. It wasn’t as much as a bluff as they thought it might have been once we explained to them that we had a planet close by we used as a life sentence prison. It was full of deadly flora, and not a speck of fauna to be seen. You didn’t know what you would eat from day to day that would harm you if you ate it, or what would eat you if you stood still too long. Fun place to be sure, we explained to them. Pictures of incidents thereon convinced the woman first, then the man, that cooperation sounded pretty good.

In separate interrogations, they each spewed forth the plan, identically, right down to the destination port and the codeword to be used to ensure it was them approaching with the princess in their custody. This was going to be way too easy. They were supposed to be paid five hundred thousand universal credits, about a million Alliance monetary units, called chits, when they delivered the princess to Rowland at an out of the way coastal resort town on Goodland. They had been given fifty thousand credits as seed money, of which they had forty-five thousand remaining. They had their own spacecraft and just needed about five thousand in food and reactor fuel to pull the operation off and get back to Goodland.

Our next task was to learn the controls on their shuttle, and their ship, which had been left in a high planetary orbit around Concord. Thankfully, it really was just the eight of them, and the ship was left in autonomous control while unattended. The two had told us it was a repurposed Magnus planetary guard cutter, so after a bit of research, Commodore Allison was able to bring up the control systems in the library and find a couple of friends to help her run the things back to Freeport on Goodland, a vacation spot known for the beaches and the sunshine.

We made contact with Rowland, using an intermediary, pretending to be a bit wary of being shafted on the deal and killed, instead of being paid for the delivery of ‘his’ princess. The answer came back that all was well, the money would be waiting, and the matron would be there to assist in the delivery.

The matron? That was what we needed, most likely, to make sure we caught the whole gang. I warned Gwyneth that this was going to be a bit ugly, because for the plan to work, her father needed to know everything from here on out, and I meant EVERYTHING.

“I understand, Charlie. Can I call him and break the news? Coming from me, it might be a bit better. I don’t know how it could be, but I need to try.”

“Yes, doll, let’s go in the office.” We brought her father up on a video conference and I stayed in the background next to her while she explained the situation.

“This is preposterous, Gwyneth. Are you sure? Are you absolutely positive?”

“Yes, Father, we have two of the culprits and they spilled a lot of information.”

“Charles, what are we to do, then?”

“Jaren, we have to play this out to make sure everything we have been told, not only by the perpetrators, but by my intelligence people, is true. I have no reason to doubt my people, but we need to take this to its end point.”

“I don’t like it a bit. None of it. Charles, if you are sure, absolutely sure, I will go along, but good Goddesses almighty, the shit is going to fly if any of this is true.”